LIVINGSTON MANORS ROB Baker grabs the basketball with both hands to keep it away from The Family Schools T.J. Roney during Tuesday nights OCIAA Division VI game.

Family Ekes By
Livingston Manor

By Ted WaddellHANCOCK  February 10, 2006  If you wanted to define Tuesday nights boys basketball Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division VI game between the host Family Foundation School Falcons and the Wildcats of Livingston Manor, the operative word would be physical.
On the way to a 59-54 victory, the Falcons took a slim three-point halftime lead (26-23).
At the end of the third period, The Family School (12-4, 4-2 Division VI) was up by nine, 44-35.
And then things got exciting and physical.
With 6:22 left in the fourth quarter, Manor (4-11, 2-4 Div. VI) shaved the Falcons lead to 46-42.
But about two minutes later, the home team was back up by five points at 47-42.
At 2:25, The Family School was back on track until Manors Mike Perry nailed a 3-pointer. Perrys successful long-distance basket cut the Falcons advantage to 53-47.
In the closing minutes, The Family Schools Will Gahan continued showing the crowd he was a bull under the boards. At the 1:18 mark Gahan seemingly leapt halfway across the court to slap away a sure shot by a Wildcat, deflecting a critical bucket.
The last 60 seconds were marked by a series of intentional fouls as the opposing coaches attempted to preserve precious time on the clock and open up a window of opportunity for their squad to score some needed points.
With 10.9 seconds remaining, the Falcons connected twice on a 1-and-1 situation. But with 3.3 seconds left, Manor finessed a 3-pointer to cut the Falcons lead to 57-54.
With 2.4 seconds displayed on the scoreboard clock, the Falcons converted one shot on another 1-and-1 at the free-throw line to close out their 58-54 victory.
Double-digit scorers for The Family School included Will Gahan (19 points) and Andrew Van Riper (13 points).
For Manor, Mike Perry scored 19 points and Ethan McCann added 15 points.
I thought it was very physical, very fast paced, Manor Coach Charlie Hicks said. We just made too many critical mistakes when it counted the most down the home stretch.
We didnt play our best game, but Will Gahan did a great job blocking the ball for us, and he did a great job on the offensive end, Family School Coach Ted Towsley said.
We came out really tight tonight, and weren't able to get into our rhythm until the third quarter we started running away and they made a comeback, their 3-point shooters were unbelievable, Towsley added. Every time we play Manor, its always a great game. We give each other everything we have.